The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), for allocating special educational needs resources, including assistive technology supports to schools to support students with special needs. On receipt of an application for assistive technology from a school, the SENO will examine the application in the light of the needs of the student, the school facilities and the qualifying criteria. The SENO then makes recommendations to my Department in relation to assistive technology which may be required by students with certain special educational needs and my Department will advise schools on the level of grant approved. The equipment will be the property of the school and the school's management authority will have responsibility for maintenance, repair, insurance etc. of the equipment.
All schools have the names and contact details of their local SENO and it is open to schools to contact the SENO in this regard. Parents may also contact their local SENO directly to discuss their child's special educational needs, using the contact details available on www.ncse.ie. My Department has grant-aided the provision of 247 laptops in 2007 and 240 in 2006 for second-level special needs pupils.
The Department funded the Laptops Initiative from December 2000 to May 2005. This nationwide ICT in education initiative co-ordinated by the National Centre for Technology in Education (NCTE) was aimed at identifying how laptop computers could best be used to support second-level students with dyslexia or other reading and writing difficulties. Thirty one schools participated in the initiative one of which was St Dominic's Secondary School, Ballyfermot, Co Dublin. Various methods of software use in Irish second-level teaching and learning were successfully explored and the project established the feasibility of using integrated mobile ICT in busy school environments. Much practical knowledge was gained about the management of mobile ICT in schools.
In relation to grants available for the purchase of laptops the grant scheme for Minor Works to National School Properties includes ICT equipment within the range of approved school expenditure. At Post Primary level recent developments include the introduction of the new Technology syllabus and the revised Design and Communication Graphics syllabus at Leaving Certificate level which were introduced this year with an associated investment of some €14 million to schools to upgrade their facilities. The schools could buy laptops with the funding given, up to the end of September this year 1666 laptops were purchased. Disadvantaged schools are also benefiting from the €3.4m ICT Grant scheme for DEIS Schools from the Dormant Accounts (Educational Disadvantage) Fund from which laptops can be purchased.
There are some schools which have received funding from sources other than my Department for the supply of laptops. One example of this is St Aidan's Community School which is funded by South Dublin County Council which has provided latops to all teachers and first year students.
With regards to funding for ICT in schools the Government has set out an investment of €252 million under the National Development Plan. I appointed a Strategy Planning Group to advise me on the prioritisation of measures under the planned investment over the period of the NDP. Among the issues which the new strategy will address are the upgrading and renewal of hardware along with the provision of software and digital content for learning, teacher professional development, curriculum development, the maintenance of the national broadband network for schools and technical maintenance and support requirements. I expect to be in a position to publish the new Schools ICT Strategy shortly.
